Yale Beats Harvard 22-19 in The JV Game

Nov 19, 2005

Nov. 19, 2005

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
A 45-yard touchdown pass from QB Ryan Fodor to WR Ken Ebeling with 5:26 left in the third quarter provided the winning margin as the Yale junior varsity football team beat Harvard 22-19 Friday afternoon at Johnson Field. The scoring toss, Fodor's second of the day, helped Yale overcome a 19-16 Harvard lead for the victory.

Things started well for Yale, as the Bulldogs were on the scoreboard just two plays in. Fodor's first pass of the day, off play action, found WR Jimmy Lewis over the middle for 56 yards to the Harvard 21. Fodor then threw a perfect fade to WR Grant MacQueen for a 7-0 lead 48 seconds into the game.

The Bulldog defense also came out strong, with DL Uthman Arogundade finishing off a sack after DL Juan Wheat had just missed Harvard QB Jeff Witt on third-and-six from the Crimson 43. On the Crimson's next drive, a sack by DE Stephen Schmalhofer popped the ball loose at the Harvard 36, where DL Bryan Kana recovered.

TB Brian Stephenson had two big runs on the drive after the fumble recovery. First, he picked up seven yards on a draw play on third-and-five. Three plays after that, he took another draw play all the way over to the right sideline, evading several tacklers on his way to a 20-yard touchdown. A bad snap cost Yale a shot at the extra point, but the Bulldogs still led 13-0.

Kana had a sack on the next Harvard drive, and on the one after that LB Adam Sato burst through the line and forced a fumble. LB Jay Pilkerton recovered at the Harvard 14, setting up a 28-yard field goal by DB/PK Brady Hart for a 16-0 Yale lead at 7:57 of the second.

The Crimson rallied to tie the game with touchdowns on the last two drives before the half, then went ahead 19-16 with a 29-yard field goal at 7:02 of the third. But the Bulldogs responded with the go-ahead touchdown just five plays later. MacQueen had the big play of the drive, leaping for a 31-yard reception to get the ball to the Harvard 42. Three plays later Fodor found Ebeling for a 22-19 Eli lead. After a face mask call on Harvard during a botched extra point attempt, the Bulldogs went for two but were unsuccessful.

An interception by CB Casey Gerald - aided by heavy pressure on the QB from Kana - stopped Harvard's next drive, but the Bulldogs lost a fumble two plays later. Harvard started at the Eli 40 and got as far as the Bulldog 21 before a big defensive play stopped the momentum. DL Shane Jones and a blitzing Pilkerton came up with a nine-yard sack on third down that pushed Harvard well beyond field goal range. The Crimson went for it on fourth down but Gerald defended the play well for an incompletion.

The Bulldogs had a chance to put the game away midway through the fourth but lost a fumble at the Harvard 10. The Crimson got only 24 yards after that, however, and had to punt. Harvard's final drive included sacks by Jones and Schmalhofer, and Gerald intercepted a desperation heave on fourth-and-20 from the Harvard 40 to enable the offense to run out the clock.